Time After
by Mag. Jessie Smith
Summary: Harry's last year of Hogwarts ended with a bang and the return of an old friend, but this return ends up being hard on him and every one else. Will the summer be at all happy or will sorrow and hurt destroy his love for his friend?


Time After

**Time After**

_Harry/Gwen story_

"Harry,"

It was dark and dusty. The cavern was filled with broken bricks, walls and doors. No one could see anything. Then a figure appeared from the mist. Hermione Granger, a girl with brown, curly hair, was running out of the dust. Running behind her, was a very tall, red haired, freckled faced boy named Ron Weasley.

"Harry,"

They were in a circular room with many black doors, leading to several places. Each door was named something different. Two years ago, Harry, Ron and Hermione had tried to save Gwen there. They had found the Orbs of Truth, very powerful, round crystal balls that held a witch or wizard's future in it. They also faced a battle there, against Voldemort.

Another battle had just gone on: a battle to the death. Several witches and wizards fought by the three friends' side. Many of them lay dead on the ground, so Hermione and Ron thought.

"There he is! HARRY!"

As Hermione and Ron ran further, they could see a boy lying on the ground. He had jet-black hair, wore a dark blue sweater and jeans. He was out cold. Hermione and Ron ran closer to him. As they reached him, Hermione fell to the floor trying to wake him up. Ron stood above. Hermione kept shaking him. She was terrified that he had died. Then he slowly opened his eyes.

"Harry, you're all right!" said a relieved Hermione

Harry didn't say anything. He sat up and looked around. Some of the dust was starting to clear away. Harry could see many people lying on the ground, dead. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. Everything that had happened seemed to go by so fast. Harry wondered if it was a dream.

"Harry, say something,"

"Wha… what happened?" asked Harry getting up

"Harry, you don't remember?" asked Hermione

"Well, it all happened so fast. I remember us coming to the cavern to try to kill Voldemort, and then." Harry paused "All these other witches and wizards started to arrive and we were fighting him and his Death Eaters,"

Harry shook his head trying to remember the rest.

"Is that all you remember?" asked Ron

"Me and Voldemort were fighting. Just us. It seemed like there was no one else around. I couldn't hear anything or see anyone and then…"

"What?" asked Hermione

"I felt this rush of power. Like something inside of me was giving me strength and I shot _Expelliarmus _at Voldemort. After that I fell and everything went dark,"

Harry could see Hermione and Ron both had looks of excitement. Like they were bursting to tell him something.

"Harry, you did it," said Hermione

"Did what?"

"You killed 'You Know Who'," Ron burst out.

Harry was speechless. Were they right? Did he? Then he remembered, that before he fell, he saw Voldemort die. His eyes turned black and his skin shriveled. Harry looked over to where he and Voldemort had fought. He ran over and saw his cloak. It was torn and stained with blood. Voldemort's wand was lying next to him. He really did kill the Dark Lord. Harry couldn't believe it. He had waited for this day to come for a long time now. Voldemort was dead. He turned to face Hermione and Ron. They were both beaming at him. Harry smiled back. Then his smile faded. Harry looked away from his friends.

"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Hermione

"Mate, aren't you happy about this. 'You Know Who's' dead,"

"No, I am happy. I've waited so long for this day, when I would defeat him at last,"

"Then what's wrong?" asked Hermione

"I just saw this day differently,"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I just thought there would be another person here. Another person fighting along side…,"

"Who?" asked Ron

"Oh. You mean Gwen,"

Harry looked down. Harry had always thought he and Gwen would kill Voldemort together. Ever since he found out Voldemort was corrupting her, he felt sure it was their job to finish him off. As he thought about Gwen, he felt like this was a hollow victory. Like it shouldn't have happened without her.

"Harry, Gwen would be so proud of you," said Hermione.

"I just feel like she should have been here. She's had to face more of him then I have ever had to. It should have been both of us here. It just doesn't seem fair,"

Harry reached for Gwen's locket. Gwen had given Harry her Life Locket, or he found it on his bed, on the last day of school, fifth year. The locket held all the memories that the owner experienced from the moment they get the locket to when they die. Harry grabbed for it, but nothing was around his neck. He looked down and nothing was there. Harry looked up at his friends, in shock.

"It's gone,"

"What is?" asked Hermione

"Gwen's locket. It's not around my neck,"

"It must have fallen off while we were fighting,"

As Harry looked around to see if he could find it, Ron called for him.

"Harry, I found the locket,"

Harry ran over to him and looked at his hands. There was the Life Locket Gwen had given him. It was smashed into 3 big pieces. Harry felt his heart sink into his stomach. He took the pieces from him and held them in his hands.

"This was the only thing I had left to remember her by," said Harry

"Oh Harry. I'm so sorry," said Hermione, covering her mouth

"Do you think it's fixable?" asked Ron

"Doesn't matter. The memories inside won't work,"

"Harry, don't feel bad. At least you still have memories of her in your mind,"

"Memories fade, Hermione. This locket captured all the things we had together. It always reminded me of her. Now she's gone for good,"

"Harry's she's not gone. Not inside your heart. Your love for her will never go away,"

"She's still gone," said Harry.

"Um… maybe not," said Ron looking at the far distance

"Ron, what are you talking about… oh,"

Harry looked at them. They were both in awe. Harry turned around and walking out of the dust that was left was…Gwen. Harry couldn't breathe or move. There, plain as day was Gwen. As she moved closer to them, he felt himself being pushed. He slowly walked over to her. She had a small smile on her face. Harry couldn't believe it. When they reached each other, Harry saw the sparkle in her eyes he always loved to look at.

"Hello Harry," said Gwen, softly

"Gwen. Is it… really you?" asked Harry. He could hardly breathe.

"Yes,"

Harry slowly lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek. It was soft and warm, like it always was. She was real. Harry's heart raced. Two years it had been since he last saw her. Her eyes, a grayish blue, and her skin, soft and smooth. She didn't look too much different. Her hair was a bit longer and she wore a blue top with a brown sweater and jeans.

As they stared into each other's eyes, Harry felt drawn to her, like it was the first time he had seen her in the train compartment, four years ago. He slowly leaned in to kiss Gwen and she didn't hesitate. He met her lips and immediately felt taken. Gwen's lips were as soft as ever. Gwen slowly moved her lips with his and they both felt a sensation they hadn't in a long time. Gwen's heart raced and she slowly moved her hand towards Harry's arm. Harry put his hands on her hips. They didn't want to leave this moment. While Gwen and Harry kissed, Hermione and Ron stood watching. Hermione was so happy. She was smiling, but Ron's expression was a look of disgust. He never liked watching them kiss. Harry slowly pulled Gwen to him and Gwen put her hand on his shoulders. When Gwen and Harry's kiss ended, she had the biggest smile on her face. Harry, too, was smiling.

"I've missed you," said Harry, softly

"I've missed you too," said Gwen, kissing his lips again.

"Hello Gwen," burst Hermione.

"Hello Hermione," said Gwen, softly. "Hello Ron,"

"Hey,"

"Gwen, I can't believe you're here. I mean I saw you die. How is it that you're back?"

There was a moment of silence

"As Dumbledore probably told you, Harry, I can sort of choose my fate," said Gwen.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Gwen were all sitting in the Gryffindor common room, late that night. After the battle and Gwen's return, the four of them left the cavern, walked down the long black corridor with all the portraits of people Voldemort had killed and outside was Dumbledore, professor Lupin and Mad-eye Moody. They were all in the battle, but must have slipped out afterwards. Dumbledore and Lupin were both happy to see Gwen. Lupin was a little surprised, but Dumbledore wasn't so much. He knew about the locket and had a feeling Gwen would be returning any day. The three professors had made a port key while the four friends were in the cavern. The port key was the old rusty muggle 'Keep Out' sign Hermione, Harry and Ron had seen the last time they were at the cavern. The port key took them straight to Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. After talking for a while, the four friends went to the Gryffindor common room to talk a little more.

"Well, after what happened the first time we were in the cavern, fighting Voldemort, I realized that, because of all the years Voldemort used me as a life source, he, even though not corrupting me, could still use my energy or my feelings toward you, Harry. So he still had a way of getting to you. I realized that I needed to, in a way, kill myself to protect you. Or at least make it look like I had died."

"So wait. How is it that you're here now if you killed yourself 2 years ago?" asked Ron in confusion.

"The locket I gave Harry, on the last day of school, not only holds the thoughts and memories of the beholder, but when that person dies, their soul is put into the locket. That's what makes the locket work; the energy the soul has left. When the locket is broken, the soul it belongs to is freed and gets a second chance at life. Clever, no?"

"So, I could have broken the locket many times before and you would have come back?" asked Harry.

"No," said Gwen. "The locket can only be broken for a specific reason. I made sure that I couldn't be freed until Voldemort was truly dead. Once he was, then I would be free,"

There was a moment of silence. Ron had a puzzled look on his face. He still didn't quite understand what was going on, but knew Hermione would explain it to him again. Harry on the other hand wasn't too happy.

"Gwen, why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"I couldn't,"

"Couldn't there have been another way?"

"No Harry. The only other way would have been actually killing myself. I thought this might have been better seeing that I come back in the end," said Gwen, giving Harry a funny look

Harry still didn't look pleased. He felt that Gwen should have at least given him some sort of sign before it all happened.

"Harry, I'm here now, aren't I? And isn't that enough?" asked Gwen grabbing Harry's hand.

Gwen's hands were soft and Harry knew she was right. She was here now and he was very happy for that.

"I guess you're right. I am glad your back," said Harry.

They both smiled at each other.

"Oh, this is so sweet," said Hermione, whipping a tear from her eye.

Ron gave Hermione a tissue.

"Here. So you don't make a mess," said Ron.

"Ron, you're supposed to be sensitive to me. I am your girlfriend," said Hermione

"What?" asked Gwen, now staring at the two of them. "I'm sorry, but I thought I heard you say you are his… girlfriend?"

Gwen was now looking at Ron with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Yes Gwen. Ron and I are dating. For almost a year now,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Well congratulations. Took you long enough to pluck up the courage to ask her out. I mean you've liked her for how many years now? Why not wait till the sixth year to do so?"

"How did you know I liked her for so long?" asked Ron

"Oh for heaven's sake Ron, everyone knew. I mean you've boasted about her so many times, it became perfectly clear to everyone. Subtlety is not your strong suit, Ron," said Gwen.

"It's alright Ron. Subtlety doesn't suit everyone," said Hermione, stroking his hair.

Ron was now not happy, confused and embarrassed.

The next few days were a little strange for everyone. It's not too often you see a person, who you presumed to be dead, just come back to life again. Students' were used to seeing ghosts return to the school, but not fellow students. Gwen and Harry got many strange looks and questions over the course of the last few days. When it came time for the last feast of the year, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Gwen were all ready to leave and start their summer. Harry and Gwen couldn't wait to spend their summer together. Two years was too long for them to be apart and they needed to catch up. Ron and Hermione were excited too. Hermione was planning on staying at the Burrow for most of the summer. It was like a second home to her.

After the feast, all the students were headed to Hogsmead and getting ready to board the train. The four friends found a compartment and set their things in it. As they got themselves settled, many students passing by still gave then strange looks. Gwen didn't seem to mind though.

"Don't people know it's rude to stare?" asked Ron

"Aren't you annoyed Gwen. I mean everyone's looking at you," asked Hermione

"Not really," said Gwen with a light laugh. "I kind of expected it to happen. When you're gone for two years and then suddenly come back, you're going to get a few strange looks,"

"You've gotten a bit more than a few strange looks, Gwen," said Ron, making a funny face to the boy staring into the compartment door.

"It's their problem anyway," said Harry taking Gwen's hand. "Let them think or say what they want,"

A couple minutes latter, the train was on its way and everyone spent their times in their compartments, so not that many people were staring at Gwen. A few hours went by. Hermione and Ron were sitting beside each other playing a few games of cards and arguing. Harry and Gwen mostly talked. Gwen wanted to know all that had happened to him in the last two years. She wouldn't stop asking him questions until he told her all that she wanted to know, which was everything. Suddenly, their compartment door flew open and two cats came rushing in. One had shaggy ginger hair and a squished up face. The other one had sleek, black fur and golden eyes. The ginger cat was Crookshanks. He hopped onto Hermione's lap and the other one jumped onto Gwen's lap. The black cat was Gwen's, named Nightmare.

"Oh, Nightmare, I haven't seen you in so long," said Gwen holding her cat in her arms.

"There they are," said Ginny, running through the door. "Sorry, Nightmare got loose on me and Crookshanks started chasing her,"

"Thank you for taking care of her for so long, Ginny," said Gwen.

"It was no problem. I rather liked having my own cat. She's a good cat. I guess you'd want her back, though," said Ginny with a frown.

"How about you keep her for the summer. She does seem to like you,"

"Really? You mean it?"

"From now until the end of summer," said Gwen giving her Nightmare.

"Yay. Thank you Gwen." and Ginny left.

The train ride went by and late that night, it arrived at the London station. Students were getting off the train and greeting their parents. Some were saying good-bye to other students and some were crying because they weren't going to see their friends at school again. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Gwen were all walking along when they ran into a familiar face.

"Well, hello, Malfoy. What a pleasure to see you," lied Gwen, sarcastically.

Gwen and Malfoy hadn't seen each other since she returned. She was quite happy, not seeing him at all, but she knew she'd have to sooner or later.

"Why couldn't you have just stayed dead and let us all live happily?" asked Malfoy in his ungrateful tone.

"Oh, you never change, do you? You'll always be that little brat that thinks he's better then everyone else. You are _definitely_ your father's son," said Gwen.

Malfoy gave Gwen a nasty look and left.

There was a moment of silence.

"Oh, Hermione there's my parents. Harry, you're coming to stay at my place this summer aren't you?" asked Ron.

"Yeah. I just need to go back to the Dursley's first and I guess let them know what's going to happen, seeing that I'm not living with them anymore. They'll be happy. Then I'll come over,"

"Ron we should go. Bye you two," said Hermione, pulling Ron's arm.

"Gwen, you're coming to visit too?"

"I will. I promise. Just not right away. I need to go home first. I'll send you an owl before I go,"

"Ok, well we'll see you then. Bye," and Hermione and Ron were gone.

"So, I better get going too. The Dursleys don't like it when I keep them waiting,"

"Ok. I'll see you at the Burrow then," And Gwen and Harry gave each other a kiss.

As Harry pulled his trolley, he turned and saw Gwen get on her broom. She had put a spell on her luggage, making them shrink and had put them into her pocket. She had put her owl in the front of her broom and flew off. Harry watched her fly away until he couldn't see her anymore.

Up until the point he had arrived at the Weasleys, Harry spent a good week and a half packing his things and avoiding the Dursleys. The only real time he talked to them was from the morning after the train ridetrains ride. They all sat for breakfast and Harry told them that he was done school and wasn't going to be living with them anymore. They seemed rather pleased, but Harry knew they would be. Vernon, for the first time, patted him on the back with a smile, and said, "Good that you're moving on with your life and making a use of yourself," which Harry knew meant "Thank heavens you're leaving. I could care less what you do with your life, as long as you're not in ours," It puzzled him though, when they had asked him, that morning, where he was going to live. He said that he was going to live with his friends' family until he could get a home of his own. He would have liked to get one near Hogwarts, but he didn't tell them that. He also didn't mention Gwen to them. Harry didn't think he had ever mentioned her to the Dursleys before. They wouldn't have believed him anyway, about having a girlfriend. Aside from breakfast that morning and when he said goodbye to them on the day he was leaving, Harry never made much contact with the Dursleys that summer. He was rather glad.

The day Harry left to go to the Burrow, Mr. Weasley and Bill, Ron's eldest brother, met him at his relatives' house. They weren't there to protect him, but thought it would be easier for him if he had help with his things and some company. The trip went very smoothly, with no mishaps and no muggles saw them. It took 2 hours to get to the Burrow, but Harry didn't mind the ride. He always loved flying on his broom, rather then apparating. When they arrived at the Burrow, it was very sunny out. A warm breeze was filling the air. As they walked up to the door, Harry could smell something wonderful coming from the inside.

"Oh, you're in luck, Harry. Mum's making her famous stew. She doesn't make it too often. Probably because you're coming," said Bill.

Harry was glad to be at the Burrow. It was like home to him. When they walked through the door, the whole Weasley family greeted Harry. Fred, George and Charlie were playing a game of cards with a bewitched deck. Percy was helping to set the table, Professor Lupin and Mad-eye Moody were in a very heated conversation and Ginny was playing with Crookshanks and Nightmare. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen cooking, when she saw Harry walk in and bewitched the spoon she was using to stir the stew. She came over to give him a hug.

"Harry dear. How are you?" asked Mrs. Weasley

"Good,"

"That's good. You look well. Have your relatives been feeding you better"

"I think when they heard I wasn't going to live with them anymore, they thought it would be nice if they gave me one good meal," laughed Harry

"You should have told them ages ago that you were leaving. You would have gotten more meals that way," came Ron's voice from the upstairs.

Ron and Hermione both appeared in a doorway. Hermione ran down to give Harry a hug and Ron just patted his best friend's back.

"Good to see you, mate," said Ron

"Yeah you too. Hi Hermione," said Harry trying not to suffocate in her hair "When did you get here?"

"Oh, about a week ago. My parents are going on a long vacation, so I was only at home for a few days," said Hermione

"Well, dinner should be ready in a few minutes. Let's everyone have a seat," said Mrs. Weasley

As everyone sat down, Harry looked around the table.

"Has Gwen not arrived yet?"

"No. She sent us a letter a few days ago saying she would be here yesterday afternoon, but she hasn't arrived," said Hermione.

"She's probably caught up with something. I mean she hasn't been home for two years, so she must be doing something, like cleaning," said Mrs. Weasley

"No. I don't think she's cleaning. Gwen's not much a of a cleaner," said Hermione "She's more like Ron, just throws things on the floor and waits for them to put them selves away,"

"Oh, very funny Hermione," said Ron

And just as Ron finished speaking, there was a knock at the door. Mr. Weasley got up and opened it. Standing behind the door was a brown haired girl with blue eyes.

"Sorry I'm late," said Gwen, walking in.

Everyone turned and smiled at her. Mr. Weasley took her broom and leaned it up against the wall next to Harry's Fire Bolt.

"Two storms on my way here. Lost my luggage, lost my owl and nearly killed myself by running into a huge boat," said Gwen taking off her jacket.

"That's alright," said Mrs. Weasley walking over to give her a hug.

Gwen was never really close to the Weasley family, but Mrs. Weasley always felt she was just as important as any of them. Gwen mostly thought it was because she was dating Harry and that she was destined to kill Voldemort. She didn't mind being treated so nicely, but wouldn't have minded it if Mrs. Weasley didn't hug her so much.

"At least you're here now and all's well. Arthur, will you get another chair for Gwen?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she got another place setting, bowl and cutlery for her.

When Mr. Weasley brought a chair, Gwen sat down next to Harry.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, we can begin to eat," said Mrs. Weasley, sitting down.

Dinner was very pleasant. Many conversations went around the table. Fred and George were talking to Professor Lupin about some of their newest pranks; Mad-eye was just sitting looking around, with his mechanical eye. Ginny was talking to her dad about things that had gone on that school year. Charlie, Bill and Mrs. Weasley were in an argument about Bill's hair and that Charlie never visits enough. Hermione and Ron were talking about their grades, and Harry and Gwen were also talking. Harry was interested in what she had been up to the last week.

"Nothing really. Packed up some things and cleaned the layer of dust that had grown on everything in my house,"

Harry smiled. For a moment then, no one said a word.

"So Ron," Gwen piped up. "Have you told your parents?"

There was a moment of silence. Ron looked puzzled.

"Told us what Ronny?" asked Mrs. Weasley

Ron didn't know what to say.

"You know, about you and…" Gwen nodded her head in Hermione's direction.

"Gwen…"

"You don't say it, then I will," said Gwen with a smile

"Fine. Mum, dad…me and Hermione are… dating," said Ron nervously

No one said a word. Fred and George were trying not to burst out into laughter.

"Oh we know, Ronald," said Mrs. Weasley

"Yes for some time now," replied Mr. Weasley

"What? How did you find out?" asked Ron.

Fred and George were giggling.

"Hermione told us last summer," said Mrs. Weasley with very little expression on her face.

Ron just looked over at Hermione.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Ronald. They needed to know," said Hermione.

Fred and George were now giggling uncontrollably.

"Why don't we change the subject, for the sake of Ron's embarrassment?" said Professor Lupin. Ron just rolled his eyes "Um Gwen, what was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Being locked away in the locket,"

"Oh," said Gwen.

She had never been asked that question before.

"Well, um I don't really know how to explain it. I guess it was like being surrounded by smoke. It wasn't really dark, but there wasn't much light. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel,"

"Feel what?" asked Mr. Weasley

"Feel emotions. Harry's emotions," said Gwen looking over at Harry

Harry just looked down.

"Was it scary?" asked Hermione

"No, but it wasn't exactly happy."

"So you were alive in the locket?" asked Mad-eye Moody

"Well, yes and no. I physically wasn't, but my soul was, so I felt things. I'd never really thought about it,"

Many more questions were asked about Gwen and the locket. Harry kept quiet through the whole dinner. He didn't seem to be in a good mood afterwards.

That night was very quiet. Harry spent most of his time unpacking his things. He was staying with Ron in his room and Hermione and Gwen were sharing Percy's old bedroom. Percy wasn't staying at the Burrow for the summer, so there was an extra room for them. That night, all the kids went down to the joke shop the twins had been working on for a year. Business was slow nowadays, but they said it had been a huge hit when it first opened. They told Gwen that the prank she had given them, was their best seller. It was a small light brown box with the word _'Secret'_ written in gold on the lid. When you open it, a huge gust of soot and dust bursts in your face and it sticks to your face. All their customers loved this prank. They said it was the best present for their family and friends. Gwen felt really good that the shop was doing well and that she could contribute so well.

A couple weeks had gone by and already things seemed to be going wrong. Harry wasn't in a good mood whenever anyone talked about Gwen and the Life Locket. It seemed to bother him and Gwen noticed it. She was getting really annoyed by Harry. They began to have little arguments here and there. Gwen would try to talk to Harry and it ended with them being mad at each other. No one really bothered to help them because by the next day, every thing was fine.

A few more weeks passed and Harry and Gwen's arguing got worse. The arguments lasted longer and Gwen and Harry stayed mad for longer periods of time. Hermione and Ron were beginning to worry. It wasn't like them to argue so much. Everyone else was noticing their fighting too. Mrs. Weasley wasn't too happy with it all. Fred and George found it rather amusing. They kept making bets on how long they would argue or how long they would stay mad at each other.

One sunny day, most of the Weasley family wfamily was having a good time in the kitchen and living room. Harry and Gwen were up stairs in Percy's old bedroom. They had gotten into another argument the night before and Mrs. Weasley convinced them to talk it out before she gave them a week's worth of chores. They had been talking in Percy's room for while. Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from the bedroom. Hermione, Ron and Professor Lupin all walked into the kitchen.

"What's going on up there?' asked Lupin.

"It's Harry and Gwen," said Mad-eye

"Are they arguing again?" asked Hermione.

"Mum made them have a talk," said Fred

"Yeah she wanted them to figure out what was wrong…" said George

"But it doesn't seem to be working," Continued Fred.

There voices got louder and louder every minute. Finally everyone could hear what the two of them were saying.

"… what's that supposed to mean, Harry?" came Gwen's voice

"… I don't know. You tell me," said Harry.

"… you know, you haven't been making any sense lately,"

A few minutes went by and everyone had stopped what he or she was doing to listen to the conversation. Even Mrs. Weasley had slowed down on the cooking. She too was interested.

"… why don't you tell me what's been going on, Harry, cause clearly, I don't have a clue,"

"… no you don't and if you had been here for the last two years, maybe you would be able to understand a little more,"

"… you're such a git, you know that right?"

Their voices didn't seem to lower, but everyone got bored of the arguing. It was mostly the same things over and over again. Mrs. Weasley had going back to her cooking and everyone else went back to what they were doing. Hermione was still a little curious to what was going on.

"I don't understand why they keep fighting," said Hermione

"Yeah, they're worse then you and Ron," said Fred.

"Much worse," said George

"If they cause any more ruckus, than they already have, it's chores for a month. Mark my word," said Mrs. Weasley

_BOOM_

Everyone stopped and looked at the closed door. There was no sound coming from the room.

"Alastor, can you see what's going up there?" asked Mrs. Weasley, frantically

Moody rolled his mechanical eye around to the door and scanned the room.

"Harry's on the floor. Looks like he's been hit by a spell," said Moody

"They've gotten their wands out!" yelled Hermione

"Not in my house…" and Mrs. Weasley ran up the stairs to the bedroom.

She opened the door and before Harry could hit Gwen back with a spell, Mrs. Weasley disarmed Harry and summoned both their wands. Gwen was not happy. She pushed past Mrs. Weasley and headed for the door.

"_Accio_ broom," called Gwen

But before the broom could reach her hand, Mrs. Weasley used _Expelliarmus_ on it. The broom fell to the floor.

"You are not going anywhere," said Mrs. Weasley. "You will sit and have dinner with us and after, we will try and settle all of these arguments you and Harry have been having. Now sit down,"

Gwen did nothing. She just gave Mrs. Weasley a very dirty look.

"_Accio_ Fire Bolt," yelled Gwen

Harry's broom flew into Gwen's hand as she opened the front door and she was gone. Mr. Weasley and Professor Lupin tried to stop her from leaving, but by the time they had reached the door, Gwen was already in the air. Everyone just stood where they were. No one knew what to do.

That night, no one could sleep. Everyone was worried about Gwen. It had been hours since she had run off. Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Mad-eye Moody and Professor Lupin all went out looking for her. They had been gone for almost as long as Gwen had been. Mad-eye, Lupin and Charlie searched in and out of Hogwarts, while Mr. Weasley and Bill searched around the towns, villages and alleys. It wasn't until one in the morning that they arrived back at the Burrow. All the kids were sitting at the kitchen table, along with Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh dear. Did you find her?" asked Mrs. Weasley as they walked in the door.

"No," said Mr. Weasley

"We searched everywhere, mum," said Charlie as he hung up his coat.

"Even places we didn't think she would go," said Bill

"This is just terrible,"

"Don't worry, Molly. I'm sure she'll come back. You do have her wand," said Mr. Weasley with a grin. "She will need it eventually,"

"You're most likely right, but I did send out an owl to Tronks and Bobel, telling them what happened,"

"Why do those names sound so familiar?" asked George.

"It's those two lovely Aurors we met in the secret room. They had a sister too. Janez," said Fred.

"Oh I remember. Yeah she was a bit odd. Tronks was pretty. That blue hair of hers,"

"And Bobel's, long golden locks. Not to mention a body that could make any man stop and stare,"

"Why would they want to know about Gwen?" asked Ron, giving his brothers odd looks.

"Tronks, Bobel, and Janez have known Gwen for years," said Mrs. Weasley

"They say Gwen was like another sister to them," said Hermione

"I told them to stop by in a couple days to talk to Gwen. Maybe they can try to figure this out,"

Harry then walked down the stairs, only to find everyone in the kitchen. Harry had been sleeping in his room. He fell asleep right after dinner, giving no one a chance to talk to him about the argument.

"What's everyone doing up?" asked a sleepy Harry

"We're waiting for Gwen to come back," said Hermione

"Oh," and Harry made his way to the kettle.

There was a moment of silence.

"Harry," said Hermione.

Harry turned to face her.

"What's been going on between you and Gwen?"

"What do you mean?" said Harry, knowing perfectly well what she meant.

"Oh don't be daft, mate. Why have you been fighting with Gwen so much?" asked Ron

"I don't know. We just have," said Harry sitting down with a cup of tea.

"There has to be a reason. Has she done something?"

"Have you done something?" asked Fred.

"I don't know. It's just, every time we start talking we get into a row. We can't seem to talk about anything without…"

"Blowing each other's heads off," interrupted George.

"Exactly," said Harry

"Well, if you won't tell us why you've been fighting so much, can you at least tell us where Gwen might have flown off to," said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry shrugged and shook his head. He then went back up stairs and left everyone even more confused.

Two days went by and still Gwen hadn't returned. Mrs. Weasley was worrying even more. Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Mad-eye Moody and Professor Lupin went out every morning and night looking for her, trying to see if they might find her, but no luck. Tronks and Bobel also hadn't arrived either, but they replied to Mrs. Weasley's letter, saying they were busy with Ministry work, so they couldn't come right away, but when they were done, they would surely come and help. All the other kids in the house were just as scared for Gwen. They knew she was a strong witch, but as more and more days passed, they worried that she had gotten hurt. Every time the door opened, every one in the house rushed to see who it was and every time, it wasn't Gwen. Harry was even beginning to wonder what had happened to her. Hermione and Ron tried to get Harry to talk, but he didn't say much. But the more and more they badgered to him, the more he began to worry.

Five days after Gwen left, the worry that everyone felt had turned into blind sighted fear. That night no one could sleep. Everyone was up and in the kitchen, same as the night Gwen had left. Charlie and Bill were out searching for Gwen again. Moody and Professor Lupin weren't going out that night to search. They were going to wait till morning and do a round after Bill and Charlie. A storm was starting to grow and by midnight, it was raining cats and dogs outside. Bill and Charlie came in just before it got really bad out. As the rain poured harder and harder, everyone worried even more for Gwen. It grew later and just as they were about to head off to bed, Moody noticed something.

"There's someone outside," He said

At that very moment the door swung open. A very wet and unhappy Gwen stomped her way into the Burrow. She was holding Harry's Fire Bolt in her hand. Everyone's hearts lifted when they saw her. Hermione and Ginny ran over to her. Ginny took the broom from her and set it against the wall, where it was before. Hermione ran up to her and gave her a big hug.

"Oh, Gwen you're all right," said Hermione.

"Where have you been, Gwen?" asked Ginny.

Gwen didn't answer. She tried to make her way to a chair, but nearly fell. Gwen had done some damage to her leg and she had a nasty bruise on her left eye.

"What happened to you?" asked Hermione, holding her up.

"Nothing," said Gwen

"Gwenethia Gryffindor," yelled Mrs. Weasley

"Oh for Christ sake. Mrs. Weasley will you please not use my full name?" said Gwen grumpily.

"Gwenethia _Gore_ Gryffindor,"

Gwen breathed heavily and raised one eyebrow.

"Look," said Gwen "I'm not in a good mood, so don't agitate me,"

"Gwenethia, while in my house, you follow my rules and orders and you will site down and eat something,"

"You can't tell me what to do. You're not my mother," yelled Gwen

"Well, I'm as good as, right now. Now sit," demanded Mrs. Weasley

Gwen gave her an angry look and sat down. She decided that it would be too much effort to fight with her and Mrs. Weasley still had her wand. She didn't want to provoke Mrs. Weasley so much that she wouldn't give it back.

"Here, wrap this around you." Mrs. Weasley placed a towel around Gwen's body. "I'll make you something to eat,"

"Gwen, where have you been?" asked Professor Lupin. "We've been searching for you for days,"

"I just need to got out and clear my head,"

"What happened to your eye Gwen?" asked Hermione.

"What happened to your leg?" asked Ginny, looking at the horrible cut on her left leg.

There was a chunk of skin missing and it was bleeding badly.

"Nothing. I really don't want to talk right now, can I go?" asked Gwen trying to get up.

Gwen struggled to get out of the chair, but she couldn't. She was stuck.

"I can't get up," said Gwen

"You will not be going any where until you tell us where you've been and what you've been up to," said Mrs. Weasley putting a bowl of soup in front of her "You have had us all worried sick and I think we deserve answers."

"You glue my ass to the chair," said Gwen

"Watch you mouth," roared Mrs. Weasley "I used a sticking charm,"

"Take it off now," yelled Gwen.

"No. Now eat your soup,"

Gwen had now lost her temper with Mrs. Weasley, but since she didn't have her wand with her, she didn't bother struggling. After a few minutes, Gwen finally calmed down and was ready to talk. Lupin was tending to her leg as people began to ask questions.

"Ok, now, please tell us were you have been for the last 6 days"

"I went to the mountains,"

"The mountains. Why?" asked Ron

"It's where I go to think. I'm surprised Professor Lupin didn't look there first. I used to hide up there when I was little," said Gwen flinching a bit as Lupin worked on her leg.

"Yes well. It's been so long since you have hidden yourself there," said Professor Lupin.

"So what happened to your eye?" asked Hermione

"And your leg?" continued Ginny

"I ran into a troll… oww…this morning and since I didn't have my wand," shooting Mrs. Weasley a dirty look "I couldn't really protect myself that well… careful," said Gwen to Lupin, who had dug a bit to deep, while trying to get bits of rock out of the cut.

"So you fought it?" asked Hermione

"No. It trapped me and I tried to escape. Didn't do that great of a job. I cut my leg on a jagged rock and it got a good swing at my eye," said Gwen

"Well, we're just glad your back a safe now," said Mrs. Weasley

"Where's Mr. Weasley?" asked Gwen

"He's at the Ministry with Harry trying to see if anyone has seen you at all," said Mad-eye Moody

"Oh," said Gwen.

Just then. The door opened and 2 witches appeared. One was tall, thin, had blue hair with black streakes, and wore a long brown coat, green turtle neck top and dark jeans. The other one was a bit shorter, had platinum blond hair, rosy cheeks, wore a light blue sweater, a pair of jeans and high-heeled boots. Gwen immediately recognized them.

"Hello everyone," said Bobel.

"Hello Gwen. I see you've returned," said Tronks, with a smile.

"Tronks, Bobel," said Gwen struggling to get up.

She had forgotten about the charm Mrs. Weasley put on her.

"I'd give you a hug, but Mrs. Weasley's glued me to the chair," said Gwen.

"Molly, you glued her down?" asked Tronks.

"I didn't want her to run," said Mrs. Weasley

"Oh Molly." And they both sat down next to Gwen.

"Good to see you Gwen," said Tronks, hugging Gwen.

"Better now that we know you're safe," said Bobel. "How have you been?"

"Fine. Wait where's Janez?" asked Gwen.

No said anything. Tronks and Bobel both frowned.

"Janez was killed in the battle at the cavern 2 years ago," said Hermione

"Oh…" Gwen lowered her head.

She was never told this when she returned, so it was a shock for her.

"At least she died fighting. She was always a fighter."

"That she was," said Bobel. "But he wouldn't want us to dwell to much on her death."

"Right." Said Gwen, trying to smile

"Now Gwen, why did you run off?" asked Tronks, getting to the point of their visit.

"I just needed to get away and clear my thoughts,"

"Molly said you and Harry have been arguing. Does that have anything to do with you leaving?" asked Tronks.

"And by the way, good choice. Harry is a right fine boy. You two were meant for each other,"

Gwen smiled "Me and Harry have been arguing a lot,"

"Why?"

"I don't know. He always seems to get mad when ever anyone would bring up the topic of me and the locket," said Gwen. "I would try to talk with him and see what was wrong, but every time I did, we'd fight with one another,"

"Did Harry not like the locket you gave him?" asked Bobel.

"No he loved it. Wouldn't put it down,' blurted Hermione.

"Yeah, he always had it around his neck and he always looked at it," said Ron.

"Maybe he's just not used to you being back,"

"But it's been a month," said Gwen.

"Well, sometimes it takes a while," said Tronks. "He might be feeling different about you being back. Not saying he doesn't love you, just that he might have some mixed emotions about you actually being alive and not just in the locket,"

"Gwen, don't worry, too much. It will all work out. Just try not to get to angry with him," said Bobel.

"Ok,"

"Wait," yelled Ron "How is it that you got all that from her and yet Hermione and I have gotten nothing from Harry,"

"Oh, well we've know Gwen for many years…" said Tronks

"And there has never been a time when we couldn't get something out of Gwen," continued Bobel

Ron just made a face.

"Well, now that we have most of this mess sorted out, and that Gwen is safe, why don't we all go to bed? I'll send Arthur an owl letting him know Gwen's safe,"

"I would go to bed," said Gwen as everyone was getting up "But I'm still glued to this bloody chair,"

"Oh, I forgot," and Mrs. Weasley waved her wand.

"Thank you," said Gwen in relief.

As soon as Gwen was free, everyone went straight to bed. The next morning, everyone woke up happier than they had been in the last six days. That morning, the trunk that Gwen had lost trying to get the Burrow and her owl had finally arrived. She could now wear her own clothes. She had been borrowing Hermione's for the time being. After breakfast, Gwen went up stairs to unpack her things. While unpacking, Mr. Weasley and Harry returned from the Ministry of Magic.

"Morning everyone," said Mr. Weasley

"Morning Arthur. Morning Harry," said Mrs. Weasley

"Morning,"

"Arthur, you got my letter yesterday, right?" asked Mrs. Weasley

"Afraid not. We must have just missed it, why? Did Gwen come back?"

"Last night around midnight. She was soaking wet and had gotten into a fight with mountain troll," said Mrs. Weasley

"Why was she near a mountain troll?" asked Harry

"She had been up in the mountains the whole time," said Hermione.

"Oh,"

"She's fine, but has a bit of a scrape on her leg and a nasty bruise on her eye. It should clear in a few days. Would you like a spot of breakfast?" asked Mrs. Weasley

"None for me dear. We already ate,"

"No thank you Mrs. Weasley," said Harry looking around for Gwen

"Hello, Arthur," said Tronks coming from Percy's bedroom.

"Hello Tronks. When did you get here?"

"Last night about half and hour after Gwen did. Bobel's here to. I think she's out in the garden," said Tronks taking a seat. "Hello Harry. You look well."

"Hello Tronks. Thank you. You look nice yourself," said Harry

Tronks was wearing an orange t-shirt with a green sweater and brown corduroy pants. Her hair was all spiky.

"Having a good summer are we?" asked Tronks.

Harry didn't answer. He was still looking around to try and find Gwen. Tronks noticed he wasn't paying any attention.

"Um… if you're looking for Gwen, she's up stairs, unpacking,"

"Unpacking?"

"Yes. Her trunk and owl finally found their way to the Weasleys' this morning and she's just putting stuff away," said Tronks.

"Oh, alrightall right, well I think I'm just going to go and… change," said Harry.

He knew he wasn't doing a good job at being subtle, but he wanted to go see Gwen. As he made his way up the stairs, he could see her, through the cracked door, unpacking her trunk and putting her things in the small dresser next to the bed. He slowly walked to the door and opened it. Gwen was standing over her trunk when Harry had opened the door enough to see all of her. She was wearing a dark blue sweater, one she wore often, a green shirt underneath, and a pair of jeans. Harry slowly walked in, trying not to make noise. Gwen had heard him come in and turned her head to see who was there.

"Oh. What do you want?" asked Gwen.

"I just wanted to see if you were alright. I heard you came back last night," said Harry.

"Yes."

Harry didn't reply.

"Don't worry, I didn't damage your broom," said Gwen as she put a pile of shirts into a drawer and closed it.

"Oh, that's good,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Harry, is there any real reason you're here?" said Gwen

"Yes Gwen, I wanted to know if you were fine," said Harry.

"Well, I am. I thought you didn't care about me?" said Gwen walking over to her trunk.

"What would make you say that?" said Harry harshly, while walking closer to her.

"Well, in our last argument, you said you didn't care about anything that had to do with me."

"Oh, right. Gwen I was just mad."

"Yeah you've been mad for a while now."

Harry walked closer to her.

"I do care about you. You know that," said Harry.

"I don't really know what to think right now,"

"I'm sorry if I've made you feel that way. I didn't mean to," said Harry, now right next to Gwen.

Gwen didn't say anything. She was bending over her trunk, sorting some socks.

"You know I love you Gwen," said Harry.

"You say that, but how do I know you mean it," said Gwen standing straight up and turned so she was facing Harry.

As she faced him, Harry leaned over and kissed her. Gwen was caught off guard. This wasn't like Harry, but Gwen seemed to like it. When Harry let go of Gwen, she couldn't move.

"You all right?" asked Harry

"You surprised me," said Gwen catching her breath.

They just stared at each other. Gwen didn't know what to do.

"Gwen, I'm sorry I got mad at you," said Harry

"I know you are,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Stop staring at me like that," said Gwen.

"Why?"

"Because… it makes it really hard to stay mad at you,"

Harry just grinned. "So am I forgiven?"

"No. But I'm not mad at you," And Gwen gave Harry a kiss on the check.

They both then decided to make their ways down stairs. When they arrived down everyone seemed to have stopped talking.

"So, did you fix everything?" asked Hermione.

Harry and Gwen said nothing. They just sat down at the table.

"Wait. They're sitting next to each other, they're not arguing and Gwen is smiling at Harry. I think they've stopped fighting," said Ron.

"His perception has gotten better over the years," said Gwen

Time went on and everything was calm. Harry and Gwen hadn't had any arguments for a couple of weeks and everyone liking that. Hermione was happy they figured out what was wrong and fixed it. She hated seeing them fighting. Ron, as well, was happy. He didn't like it when Harry was mad and he surely feared it when Gwen was angry.

One calm evening, after dinner, Harry decided to take Gwen for a walk. They used to do this when they were in school, only they would have to sneak away to do it. They didn't have to sneak this time. Once the dishes were washing themselves, Harry and Gwen left. Hermione was really happy for Gwen and Harry, but at times she wished Ron would ask her to go for a walk or something. Ron wasn't as romantic as Harry was to Gwen. Hermione sometimes felt a little jealous.

"Ron," said Hermione "Um would you like to come out to the garden with me?"

"Why?" asked Ron

"No reason. I just wanted to… talk," said Hermione.

Fred and George were in the room with them and they caught on to what Hermione was getting at. They knew she was going to talk, but she also wanted Ron to make a move on her. The Twins had never seen Ron kiss Hermione, or any girl. They wondered if he had ever kissed Hermione before. Ron agreed to going into the garden with Hermione.

Harry and Gwen hadn't been walking for long. They had walked to a small meadow, filled with flowers and trees. The sun was just starting to set when they got there.

"I remember, when I was a little girl. I would sit on my porch and just look at Hogwarts as the sunset. I always wanted to go there. I knew I would be accepted," said Gwen, as she and Harry looked at the very small and faint Hogwarts in the far distance. "I was also afraid,"

"Why?"

"I was scared that if I went when I was supposed to then, I would be endangering the school. I learned about Voldemort at a very young age and I didn't want to hurt anyone. Especially not you,"

"Do you think all of this would have happened if you had come to the school when you were 11?" asked Harry.

"I don't now. Maybe not exactly like all that's happened to us now, but I have a feeling, things would be very different. I don't think we would be boyfriend and girlfriend," said Gwen leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe. I guess it was good, in a way that you came when you did," said Harry.

Gwen looked up at Harry. He was staring at her. As the sun slowly set, Gwen and Harry kissed.

While Harry and Gwen were out on their walk, Hermione and Ron spent most of their time in the Garden. They had talked for a little bit, and then they started to kiss. Ron always liked kissing Hermione. Even though Fred and George didn't believe him that he had before, he still treated each kiss as if it were theirthere first; very romantic and calm.

While Hermione and Ron were in the Garden, Fred and George had been testing their newest pranks. They made a huge batch the night before and wanted to try them out. They were just about to test the last one, when their mother called.

"Boys, have you seen Ron?"

"Yeah, he's outside," said Fred.

"With Hermione. Oooo," said George with a laugh.

"Oh, don't tease him. It's finally nice that he's got a girlfriend and someone so sweet as Hermione. I always thought they looked cute together,"

"Yeah real cute," said Fred

"Just adorable," said George, rolling his eyes

"Anyway. Could you go and tell him that I would like him to put his clean clothes away?"

"Sure mum," said Fred.

"We'll tell him now," said George with a smile.

As they headed for the back door, they slowly and quietly vanished. Hermione and Ron were still kissing in the Garden when Fred and George apperated right beside Ron, scaring him half to death.

"Hello Ronny," said George.

"Busy?" asked Fred.

"Ahhhh".

"Owe, Ron you bit my tongue," said Hermione.

Ron was so startled by Fred and George; he had forgotten he was kissing Hermione. Fred and George were now laughing historically.

"You know Ron, I don't think your suppose to bite your girlfriend's tongue, while snogging her,"

"Not a nice thing to do," Laughed Fred, whipping a tear from his eye

"What do you want?" asked Ron, angrily.

"Mum wants you to put your clothes away,"

"You know after you're done kissing Hermione,"

Fred and George started making smooching noises and in a second they were gone.

At that same moment Harry and Gwen had returned from their walk. Ron got really nervous, thinking they had seen what had just happened.

"Hi," said Harry.

"Hi" Ron replied , in a high pitchedhigh-pitched voice.

"Hermione are you alright?' asked Gwen.

Hermione was covering her mouth with her hands. She didn't say anything. She just nodded back. As soon at Harry and Gwen had gone in, Hermione removed her hands from her mouth. The two of them didn't say anything for a moment.

"How's your tongue?" asked Ron.

Hermione just grinned. "It's fine. You didn't bite it too hard,"

"Sorry,"

"It's alright," said Hermione with a grin.

After that, they went inside to go help Mrs. Weasley. She had wanted Ron to put some of his clothes away. She also wanted Hermione to bring Gwen's clothes up to their room and have her put them away. When Hermione entered the room, she saw Gwen was there. She was lying on her bed reading a book. Gwen didn't seem to notice her come in, until Hermione had told her that her clothes were clean. Gwen just said thanks. There was a moment of silence. Hermione was sitting on her bed staring at Gwen's book. She asked her if it was a good book. Gwen said yes. Hermione didn't say anything else. Gwen looked over at her. She was looking out the window. Her face was all flustered and pink. She looked a little embarrassed. Gwen asked if she was all right. Hermione didn't answer. Gwen then asked her again and Hermione told her what had happened between her and Ron.

"He bit your tongue?" asked Gwen in shock "Wow I didn't know he was that bad of a kisser,"

"Gwen. He's not. He was just startled," said Hermione.

"By what, the fact that he _could_ kiss or the fact that he has someone _to_ kiss?" asked Gwen, laughing.

"Gwen it's not funny. Fred and George apperated beside him and scared him. You know how he gets scared easily,"

"He bit your tongue," laughed Gwen.

"Gwen,"

"Ok, sorry," said Gwen.

There was a moment of silence. Hermione was thinking of something else to talk about.

"So you and Harry are alright now?"

"Yeah. For now,"

"Is he a good… kisser?" asked Hermione a little weirded out.

"Yeah. I guess, but he's never bitten my tongue,"

"GWEN," shrieked Hermione.

"Ok, ok I'll stop. I'll stop," laughed Gwen.

At the same time Gwen and Hermione were talking, so were Harry and Ron.

"You bit her tongue?!" said Harry, in astonishment.

"It wasn't on purpose," said Ron.

"You know, I don't think your suppose to do that when you're snogging your girlfriend," said Harry, choking down his laughter

"I didn't mean to. Fred and George apperated beside me and I jumped,"

"When Gwen hears about this, you'll never live it down. I mean Fred and George are bad, but Gwen's horrible. She's definitely going to tease you about it,"

"Oh God, I didn't even think about Gwen," said Ron putting his hand to his forehead.

While Harry and Ron were talking, Hermione and Gwen were still in Percy's room talking about the same thing.

"Please don't embarrass him about it," said Hermione.

"What makes you think I'll embarrass him?"

"Gwen, you love to tease him; you're worse then Fred and George. It's bad enough that they do it, but I think you could be nice to him for once,"

There was a moment of silence.

"I'll try, but it won't be easy,"

The next couple of days were quite quiet. Fred and George had been at their shop every day that week and didn't come home until most were asleep. Mrs. Weasley waited up for them every night. She didn't like them being out so late. Arthur was at the ministry with Tronks and Bobel a lot too. The Aurors were very busy with several mishaps with a couple of Death Eaters that were still convinced the Dark Lord was alive, just hiding. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Gwen hadn't been doing much. Gwen and Harry mostly took walks around the Burrow. They both liked the country, but missed Hogwarts and Hermione and Ron would spend a lot of their time in the garden with Mrs. Weasley. Hermione didn't mind it, but Ron wished that his mom would ask Gwen and Harry to help. Mrs. Weasley felt they needed to work on their relationship some more.

Ron and Hermione would help Ron's mum during the day, getting food from the garden. Mrs. Weasley kept them busy and Ron felt it took away time he could be alone with Hermione. So, whenever his mum would have her back turned, Ron would quickly kiss Hermione on the cheek and go back to pulling potatoes from the ground. The two of them still felt a little awkward after the incident in the garden, but Hermione felt that Ron was beginning to get over it. The two of them never mentioned it to anyone except Gwen and Harry and they didn't tell anyone. Ron was a little surprised Gwen wasn't teasing him about it. There was one moment when she almost mentioned it at the dinner table, but Hermione stopped her before she could say a word and changed the subject.

One sunny day, everything seemed to be going well. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Gwen all spent the day indoors helping Mrs. Weasley clean the house. Mrs. Weasley had convinced the twins to take a day off from work and help too. They did the bottom floor with their mum and the four friends did the top. Harry and Gwen did the bedrooms and Ron and Hermione did everything else. Several times Gwen caught Ron and Hermione kissing in the Hall when no one was looking.

"Honestly, you two are horrible together," grinned Gwen, while shaking her head at them.

That night, Mrs. Weasley made an early dinner, seeing that Arthur, Bobel and Tronks couldn't stay long. So dinner was more like a late lunch. Everyone was happy and well content, when Tronks and Bobel asked Gwen about her locket. They hadn't asked her much about it since they got to the Burrow.

"So do you still have the remaining pieces?" asked Tronks, taking a bight of her sandwich

"No. I never got them back and even if I did, it's not something you can fix. Once broken, the locket is useless," said Gwen

"So, it's like a one time deal?" asked Bobel.

"Yeah."

"Can you get another one?"

"No. A person's only allowed to have it once in their life,"

"How do you know so much about it?" asked Tronks, now very interested.

"Dumbledore told me. A friend of his gave it to him. He had used one before, but a friend gave him another and cause he couldn't use it, he gave it away,"

"Why did Dumbledore give it to you?" asked Bobel

"Well, he didn't want it, but the locket only works when given to the right person,"

"What do you mean?"

"It, like your wand, chooses you. There aren't many in the world, so it picks special people. Dumbledore knew it would work on me, so he gave it to me," said Gwen.

"That Dumbledore is an amazing man," Mr. Weasley said.

"So, he knew you were going to lock yourself in it?" asked Bobel.

"No I don't think so. It wasn't until our fifth year, around the end, that he decided to tell me what it really did. I had talked to Dumbledore about some things to do if Voldemort triedtotried to control me again and he told me how the locket worked. He had never mentioned how it worked when he gave it to me,"

"When did he tell you?" asked Hermione

"Umm… just before the Scabbards, Dragons and Knights, maybe a month before. I was really worried about Harry's dreams and I got a little suspicious, so I talked to him,"

"Why didn't you tell us about all of this?" asked Harry, who hadn't spoken one word the whole dinner

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to worry you," said Gwen

"Oh, but instead you just decided to keep this a secret, leave for years and then, when Voldemort was dead, who I had to face alone, come back," said Harry

"Harry," said Hermione.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but if I did, then Voldemort would have known,"

"You could have at least hinted. Voldemort couldn't have gotten into the locket,"

"Voldemort has powers that you don't know of," said Gwen

"And you do?"

"YES. Have you forgotten that he corrupted my soul for 10 years? I know things about him you don't and besides, if he found out, he would have beefed up his powers and his Death Eaters. You might not have killed him, the night you did, had he known,"

"I still think you made a stupid choice at protecting yourself," said Harry leaning in his chair.

"Myself?" yelled Gwen getting up. "Harry, I did this for you… and me. For us,"

"Well," Harry now standing. "I think we would have been fine without you leaving and making me suffer for two years,"

"Stop you two," Yelled Hermione.

"And what makes you think I wasn't suffering too?"

"OK. THAT'S ENOUGH," Yelled Mrs. Weasley "I WANT YOU TWO TO STOP ARGUING THIS INSTENT. It seems you two haven't fixed all of this up, so before Gwen runs off again, let's try and talk in a calm and well behaved way – "

"Molly, if it's alright," said Professor Lupin "I have an idea that might work,"

"Ok," said Professor Lupin.

Lupin was standing in the middle of an open field. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Tronks, Bobel, Mad-eye Moody and the Weasley family had all come with him. They were several miles from the Burrow. The air was crisp and clear. Not a cloud in the sky. The grass was dried out and about ankle high.

"James, Sirius and I used to do this when we were younger. Only we would do this on Hogwarts grounds and we had a teacher supervising,"

"Professor, why are we here?" asked an annoyed Gwen.

"So here's what you do. Harry and Gwen, could you come here and face each other,"

Gwen and Harry walked over to Lupin. They were still quite angry at each other. Lupin had them stand a good distance away from each other, still facing one another.

"Now, here's what you do. Gwen and Harry, while in an open field, with nothing to hide behind or throw things at, will use their wands and ONLY their wands and battle it out with spells,"

"WHAT?!" yelled Mrs. Weasley. "This is your PLAN? To have them attack each other?"

"Don't worry Molly. It's like dueling. They can use any curse they want, EXCEPT, any of the unforgivable curses. They will not be used at all,"

"So, how is this supposed to help?" asked Mr. Weasley

"They will use their rage and frustration to talk things out while throwing spells. They have been taught to throw spells non-verbally. Most of the time when 2 people are really mad at each other, they tend to say things and most of the time the problem will come out and they can fix it,"

"When does the battle end?" asked Ron

"When the problem is fixed or… when one of them gets sent to the hospital," said Professor Lupin

"HOSPITAL?!" said Mrs. Weasley. "No Remus, I don't approve of…"

"And you can start,"

Harry and Gwen began to walk in a circle, not taking their eyes off each other. Everyone else watched from the side. Mrs. Weasley was not happy at all and neither were Hermione and Ginny. Tronks and Bobel were a little concerned, but trusted Remus. They had seen him do this at Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley and Mad-eye felt the same as Tronks and Bobel did. Fred and George on the other hand, were quite amused with this. They were taking bets on who would win.

"I'm betting on Gwen," said Fred.

"I'll bet Harry," said George

"I want to bet on Harry," said Ron standing beside them.

"Bill and I are going to bet on Harry as well," Charlie said

"Anyone else? Hermione?" asked Fred.

"I will not bet against my 2 friends. Even if Gwen's going to win, I still won't,"

"Put me down for Gwen," said Mad-eye.

"Professor…" said the Twins.

"Shhh,"

Harry and Gwen kept circling each other. It wasn't until Gwen threw the first spell that they began to fight. Hexes and jinxes went flying everywhere. Gwen and Harry would be thrown off the ground, land and be casting more spells at each other. Harry and Gwen were throwing spells at each other that some of the others hadn't even heard of, or even tried to use. Gwen was more skilled in the hexes and jinxes then Harry was.

"Haven't seen Gwen use that one in a long time," said Lupin to Mad-eye

"Taught her that one," said Mad-eye

"I never knew they knew so many spells," said Ginny, "Did you and Professor Lupin teach her all of these?"

"No. We taught her the basics and some of the harder ones, but she taught herself the rest. She knows some that even us Aurors don't know." Said Mad-eye

While they were fighting, they seemed to talk. It took a while, but they began to argue as well as fight.

"… what have I done to piss you off so much... _Expelliarmus_," yelled Gwen

"… you locked yourself away for two years… _Confundo_," But Gwen dodged the spell "and didn't even bother to tell me you were going to,"

"_Impedimenta_… if I had told you, Voldemort would have known,"

More curses went flying in all directions. One almost hit Ron and Hermione. This fight lasted longer then any of them had expected. Then, Gwen and Harry started being more forceful with each other.

"You're such a git, you know," yelled Gwen, getting up from the ground.

"Yeah well, you're a slug head," yelled Harry.

"Troll breath."

"You're about as strong as a mouse."

"Your face looks like a frog's fat behind."

"You really are a bitch," yelled Harry

"_CRUCIO_," screamed Gwen

Harry fell to the floor, yelling in pain.

"DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME THAT,"

"_CRUCIO_," yelled Harry from the ground

"AHHHHHHHH," shrieked Gwen

"Stop," Screamed Mrs. Weasley. "Stop them Remus,"

The torture spell kept flying back and forth.

"You're as worthless as your parents," yelled Harry, as he fell to the ground again.

"Your parents deserved to die and you should have gone with them," yelled Gwen.

Harry became very angry and without thinking began to form his next curse "_AVADA_…"

"_EXPELLIARMUS_," Yelled Lupin.

Harry's wand flew out of his hand. Everyone stood where they were. Harry was panting and so was Gwen. She was staring at him in fear. She couldn't believe what he was about to do to her.

"Harry," said Hermione.

Harry wasn't thinking right. He couldn't focus.

"I can't believe…" panted Gwen.

Harry looked up at her.

"You… you were going to use the killing curse on me,"

It wasn't until then, when Harry realized what he had almost done.

"What… Gwen… No."

"You were going to kill me," said Gwen.

"Gwen…I…"

Gwen's eyes filled with tears. Harry couldn't believe it. He had almost killed his one true love. Without saying a word, Harry ran back to the Burrow. Everyone else just stayed there. Gwen was trembling in fear and then she fell to the ground. She had very little energy after being hit so many times by the Cruciatus Curse. Hermione, Tronks, Bobel, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny all ran over to her.

Late that night, everyone sat around the kitchen table. No one said a word to one another. After Gwen and Harry's spell fiasco, Mrs. Weasley, Tronks and Bobel all helped take Gwen back to the Burrow. They brought her up to Percy's room. Mrs. Weasley told her to rest and that she should not do anything at all that night. After tending to Gwen, Mrs. Weasley, Professor Lupin, and Mad-eye all went to go have a word with Harry. Mrs. Weasley tended to him and told him to do the same as Gwen. They were not to talk to each other till morning. Hermione and Ron went up to see him later that night. Gwen fell fast asleep as soon as she got back, and didn't wake till morning. Harry couldn't sleep at all. He felt too horrible about what he had almost done.

"Harry, don't worry too much," said Hermione

"He almost killed Gwen. Why shouldn't he worry too much?" asked Ron

"He never actually killed her,"

"Yeah if it wasn't for professor Lupin," said Harry

"Harry…"

"I nearly killed her," Harry said softly

Ron and Hermione just looked at each other.

The next morning was a little livelier. Everyone was starting to get over the shock of the previous day. Hermione, and Ron, were eating lunch with Ron's family. Professor Lupin, Bobel, Arthur, and Mad-eye had all left for a short while to go to the ministry and then to _'Secret Room #3678' _for some more ministry business. Harry and Gwen hadn't woken up yet. Harry had had a restless night. He kept dreaming about the day before, but in the dream he had actually killed Gwen. The dream kept replaying and he woke up every time in a cold sweat. Gwen had slept fine that night, but was still shaky when she finally woken up. As she walked down the stairs from Percy's bedroom, she could see Mrs. Weasley making some late breakfast, Hermione, Tronks and Ron talking, and Bill and Charlie were discussing the summer's events with Percy, who had stopped by for a visit before departing again. Ginny was playing with Crookshanks and Nightmare on the floor, while Fred and George threw a few prank pet toys at them. As Gwen reached the kitchen, Hermione, who ran over to give her a hug, greeted her loudly.

"Gwen, you're alright," said Hermione. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. A little tired, but I'll live," said Gwen.

"Gwen, dear, come have a seat," said Mrs. Weasley

Gwen sat down next the Tronks and Percy. Mrs. Weasley had put a bowl of soup in front of her. Gwen was very hungry and quickly started to eat.

"Did you sleep well last night, Gwen?" asked Tronks.

"Yes," said Gwen, swallowing.

Mrs. Weasley came over to her and checked to see if the cuts she had gained, were healing.

"You're looking better. Still a little pale, but you just need some more rest,"

"Well of course she's pale. Harry practically took the life out of her," said Ron.

"Shush," said Hermione, slapping him on the arm.

Gwen laughed lightly. "It's alright Hermione."

Then Gwen's smile slowly faded from her face. She had stopped eating and was beginning to feel sick.

There was a moment of silence.

"Umm… Harry was asking about you?" said Ron.

Gwen looked up at him.

"He's already been down?"

"Yes, about two hours ago. He was quite tired. Said he had had a bad dream that kept replaying itself. He asked how you were,"

"Oh," Gwen said, looking down at her fingers.

A few hours had gone by, but it felt like days. Harry hadn't come out of the attic since breakfast. No one, except Mrs. Weasley went up to him to check if he was all right. Several times Gwen kept walking up closer and closer to the attic door, but turned around and went back to Percy's room. She to had spent most of the day in there. She was a little afraid to go see him.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Tronks were beginning to really worry about them. Hermione, and Tronks tried a couple of times to talk to Gwen, but she didn't say much. Ron and Ginny did the same with Harry, but the response was the same as Gwen's. Things seem to be bad. Finally, a little after lunch one day, Gwen decided to be brave and confront Harry.

She slowly walked up to the attic door. She hesitated for a second. She looked down over the railing to see if anyone was coming or watching her. No one was coming up or was in her field of vision. Gwen grabbed on to the doorknob and slowly turned it. As she pushed the door open, she looked around. Ron's room wasn't very big. Two beds, a dresser and a window, were about all that could fit in it. Ron and Harry's trunks were lying at the ends of each of their beds. Gwen walked into the room and saw that Ron's bed was neatly made. His clothes were all put away, but Harry's were all over the floor and his trunk was open. Next to his trunk was Harry's bed and lying on top of it, was Harry. Gwen had entered the room and was closing the door, when she noticed that Harry hadn't heard her come in. She moved a step and the floor creaked. Harry's head turned and both he and Gwen jumped, like it was the first time they had seen each other in several years. Harry sat up, perfectly straight on his bed. He was not expecting Gwen to be there. They both hesitated before speaking.

"Umm… hello," said Gwen, holding on to the doorknob with both hands, as if ready to escape.

"Hi," said Harry, still sitting perfectly upright on his bed

There was a moment of silence.

"So… how are you feeling?" asked Harry

"Fine. Still a little weak, but…" she cleared her throat. "I'll be fine. You?"

"Ok,"

There was another moment of silence. Gwen couldn't think of something to say to him, so she began to leave. Just as she turned the doorknob, Harry spoke.

"Gwen,"

Gwen quickly turned around, and stared into his eyes "Yes,"

"Um… you have a bit of dirt on your shoulder," said Harry

"Oh," said Gwen, her heart sinking. "Thanks," and she left.

Just as the door closed, Harry stood up and ran for the door. As his hand reached the knob, he stopped. Then, letting go, he sat back done on his bed. Gwen, on the other side of the door, leaned against it. Her heart sinking lower and low in her body, she couldn't help but think that this was it. That she and Harry were not going to be getting back together. She knew he didn't mean to use the spell on her. She wasn't being as honest as she should have been to him, or any one. The time she spent in the locket, she wanted to forget it even happened and act as if she had never left, but to Harry he wanted to know the reason behind it, and she need to tell him. As she slowly closed her eyes, a tear trickled down her face.

Several days went by slowly. Harry and Gwen weren't talking to one another. Gwen couldn't face him, after trying to talk to him before. She couldn't have her heart sink any lower. Harry too, was hurting. He hadn't tried to fix anything and he felt that maybe, not telling Gwen why he was mad, had pushed her away for good. Dinners were the worst part of the day. It was extremely awkward for everyone. There was very little talking going on. Even Mrs. Weasley wasn't making any attempt to fix all the hurt that has been shared around the Burrow. Hermione, as she had said many times to both Harry and Gwen, thought it was all going to be fine. But she was beginning to think that it really was hopeless for them.

One night, late into the evening, Hermione and Tronks were talking in the living room.

"I think if she just talks to him…" said Hermione

"Hermione, it's going to take more than just a talk to fix what's happened."

"I won't give up hope. They will get back together."

"I want to believe you, but Gwen has never acted this way. She's hurting and Harry's not making it any better. They do need to talk, but with more then just words,"

As the two of them talked, Gwen came down.

"Gwen," said Tronks.

"Can I sit with you two?" asked Gwen, quietly.

"Oh course," said Tronks, moving over so Gwen could sit in between the two of them.

Tronks and Hermione were sitting on the floor. Gwen sat between them and wrapped a blanket around her.

"How have you been?" asked Hermione

"Fine," said Gwen

There was a moment of silence.

"Gwen, we were thinking, Hermione and I, that maybe for the last few weeks of summer, you, me, Hermione, Ginny, Bobel and Mrs. Weasley should all go away on a little vacation of our own. Just us girls,"

"What do you think?" asked Hermione, with a grin.

"We'll leave in a couple of days and…"

"I'm leaving tomorrow," said Gwen

"What?"

"I'm going home,"

"But… why Gwen?"

"Yeah," said Hermione.

"There's nothing left for me here. It looks like Harry and I are not going to work out, and I'm just being a drag for everyone else. It would be better if I went home, and prepared for my Auror lessons,"

"Gwen…"

"No, I've made up my mind,"

Gwen's eyes started to fill with tears.

"You just need to stay a bit longer and we can help you and Harry," said Hermione

"But Harry doesn't want to fix any of this," said Gwen.

"Why would you say that?" asked Tronks

"Because, I can tell that he doesn't care anymore. It's like he's lost all love for me,"

"He hasn't…" said Hermione.

"But he has. He doesn't seem to see me in that way any more," Gwen choked back her tears. "And seeing him, only makes me believe that he doesn't love me,"

Tronks and Hermione didn't know what to say.

"I don't want to lose him, but I can't force him to love me,"

There was a moment of silence. Finally Gwen couldn't hold back her tears.

"I'm tired of always feeling pain, and right now… that's all I feel,"

She buried her face in her knees and began to cry. As Gwen cried, standing on the staircase that very moment was Harry. He had heard everything they were talking about and for the first time ever, he had really hurt Gwen. He slowly walked back up to the attic and lay on his bed.

The next day, everyone got up earlier than usual. Somehow, the news spread over night and early that morning that Gwen was leaving. Mrs. Weasley wanted to get up before Gwen did so that she could try and convince her to stay for the remainder of the summer. Tronks and Bobel also were up to talk to her. Bobel had been reading the night before, when Tronks came in. she told her about Gwen leaving. Mr. Weasley was still at the ministry. He was there over night, with Mad-eye. Mrs. Weasley sent him a letter explaining Gwen's plan to leave. He was supposed to arrive shortly to help talk to her.

Gwen had gotten up at the same time as everyone, but spent the morning packing her things. Hermione was up there with her. They said very little to each other. Hermione was trying to talk to her without getting her mad and having her leave the second her trunk was closed. She was of age to apperate, so Hermione kept her tone down. Finally it became too awkward being in the room, so she left. As she headed down the stairs she ran into Ron, who had just woken up.

"What's everyone doing up so early?" asked Ron, rubbing his eye.

"We wanted to say good by before Gwen left," said Bobel.

"Gwen's leaving? Why?"

"She just wants to. Why are you up?" asked Hermione.

"Oh I couldn't get back to sleep after Harry woke me."

"Harry's up?" asked Mrs. Weasley

"Yeah for hours now. He said he had heard something that night and he couldn't fall asleep. That's what he must have heard. That Gwen was leaving?" said Ron sitting in a chair.

"Is he coming down?" asked Tronks.

"Dunno. Said he wasn't hungry, so probably not."

A silence fell over the kitchen. Everyone had looks of sadness and worry. No one wanted her to leave. An opening door and a trunk being knocked down the stairs suddenly disturbed the silent kitchen. Gwen had finished packing and was ready to leave. When she got down the stairs, she was a little startled to see everyone there.

"What's everyone doing up? It's not even 9am!" asked Gwen

"We wanted to say good bye before you leave," said Bobel.

"Why?"

"Why?" said Mrs. Weasley "You're leaving and it wouldn't be kind if we didn't say good bye."

"But, it's not like I'm leaving for ever. I will come back again. I'm just ready to go home,"

"Can't you stay for a few more days?" asked Ginny coming over to give her a hug

"Its just time for me to go," said Gwen.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley burst out, "You're not going anywhere until you have a healthy breakfast first. It's going to take you hours to get home if you're flying and you'll need your strength,"

"Mrs. Weasley,"

"Please Gwen," begged Mrs. Weasley

"I think I should just leave. It would only make it harder if I don't soon. So I'll say goodbye now and then I'm off. I will be back to visit. Every summer, and any time Ron invites me,"

Everyone looked away.

"Where's Harry?"

"He's still upstairs," said Ron.

Gwen slowly made her way up to the attic, to say goodbye to Harry. She hadn't spoken to him in a while, but she would have felt horrible if she didn't, at least, say goodbye. When she reached the door, she knocked on it. No one answered. Gwen opened the door and walked in. Harry was lying on his bed, just like the last time she saw him in there. Harry saw her enter, but didn't jump. He sat up slowly and faced her.

"Hi," said Gwen

Harry nodded.

"Um… I'm leaving. Going to go back home and I just wanted to say goodbye," said Gwen

"Ok," said Harry.

Gwen was a little disappointed, but she didn't expect Harry to say much. Gwen slowly turned around and headed out the door. As the door closed, Harry realized he needed to do something. He got to his feet and ran to the door. He opened it and standing there was Gwen. She was just about to go done the stairs. Gwen turned to face him. Harry just stared at her.

"Don't… don't go," whispered Harry

Gwen said nothing.

"I… don't want you to go,"

Gwen was surprised to hear Harry asking her to stay. "Harry, there's nothing left for me here,"

"There's me,"

"Harry," Gwen looked away. Harry had headed back into the room. Gwen followed. "You haven't shown any signs of wanting me here this last week,"

"I know," said Harry, his back turned to Gwen. "It's been hard,"

"Harry, I forgive you for almost using the curse on me," said Gwen

"How? How could you?" Harry turned to face her. "I almost killed you. How could you ever forgive me for that?"

"I don't know,"

"See…"

"But I have. I'm not happy for what you almost did, but I've learned to put it behind me because I know you didn't do it on purpose,"

Harry didn't respond. He was beginning to regret talking to Gwen.

"Harry," said Gwen quietly. "Why are you so mad at me?"

"I don't know,"

"No. Don't give me that answer. You know. Tell me,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Harry…"

"Why did you have to lock yourself away?"

"Harry you know why. I've explained it. I was - "

" - Protecting me. Yeah I know," said Harry, cutting Gwen off "That's what everyone does. My parents did it, Sirius and then you,"

"Harry, you still haven't answered my question,"

"I'm mad at you because… you left me for two years and you didn't bother telling me you were going to. Not even a hint. I hated myself for so long. I pushed everyone way so that I could be alone and only think of you. I missed you Gwen. Everyday I looked at the locket and hoped that you would, one day, appear from it. I missed holding you. Sitting in front of the common room fireplace and holding you in my arms. I missed talking to you. Telling you how pretty you were. I missed watching the sparkle flicker in your eyes. I missed everything about you and you LEFT,"

Harry paused for a second to catch his breath.

"Is that all?" asked Gwen

"No," said Harry, pacing the room. "I wanted you to be there when I killed Voldemort. You faced more torture from him then I ever did and it didn't seem fair that you couldn't… wouldn't be there to see the light leave his face. To see him die and feel the pain you felt for so long,"

Harry stopped again. He was collecting his thoughts. He couldn't think straight. Harry had never really told Gwen how he felt about everything that had happened to him the last 2 years. It was all spinning around in his head. He started up again.

"And yes there is more," said Harry. "Gwen, you left me to face Voldemort alone. The only other time I had to do that was when he tried to kill me, as a baby. I had to face the Dark Lord alone, with no one to help me. Sure Hermione and Ron were there, but they couldn't have helped. They aren't strong enough. You and I were the only ones who could have killed him and for some reason, he died with only me there. Everything would have worked out better if you were there,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Are you done?" asked Gwen, softly.

"Yes," said Harry sitting down on his bed.

Gwen just stood where she was for a moment; thinking of what she was going to say.

"Ok Harry, lets get one thing straight, I hid myself away for your safety. If I was there for the two years, you might not have been able to kill Voldemort when you did. Voldemort used our emotions against us and this was the only way he couldn't use me against you. I know him. He has powers that would scare even Dumbledore. Eventually he would have used me to try and kill you. Don't doubt it for a second, but he never found out about the locket and you were safe. If I had told you about the locket, he would have found out some how and would have tried to destroy it. Harry, when the locket is broken when it's not ready to break, the person trapped inside would never be able to return. He would have found out and I would not be here right know, had I told you about my plan.

"I wanted to be there with you Harry. I wanted to see the gleam leave his eyes, body and soul. He caused me so much pain, but I would rather have another kill him alone, than have him slaughter you and me. Dumbledore said that only the two of us could have killed him. One of us alone wouldn't be able to do it,"

"So how did I do it then?" asked Harry, now annoyed.

"Where do you think that last bolt of power you were given came from?" asked Gwen

Harry tried to think.

"The locket not only kept my soul but my powers. When I knew you were ready, I gave you every bit of energy I had. That's how he died,"

Gwen sat down next to him.

"I was with you the whole time," and she slowly and took his hand.

Harry yanked his hand away from Gwen and got up. "But you weren't there physically. I wanted to see you,"

"And I didn't?" said Gwen standing up "Harry, I also missed being with you: Being held by you, talking to you, kissing you. I missed all of that. I could feel all your emotions while in the locket and I hated it," Tears began to fill her eyes "I hated when you were happy because I felt left out and I hated more when you were unhappy because I wanted to be there and help you,"

Gwen paused for a second. "It was the hardest when you were fighting Voldemort because I knew I should have been there. I felt so bad and mad at my own self. I was letting you down, but I couldn't stand to see you get hurt. That's what would have happened if I was there. I missed every moment being with you and there's only so many times I can say I'm sorry to you. I hurt you, but to save you. I wouldn't have locked myself away if I didn't think you could defeat Voldemort,"

Gwen paused again. Tears began to run down her cheeks. "And if I could have changed things so that we could have both been there, I would have, but I couldn't. I care about you and I hate seeing you mad at me. You have every right to be, but I… I just… I…" Gwen was shaking. Harry had never seen her like this. "I love you Harry," blurted Gwen.

She had finally gotten the words out of her mouth. Harry hadn't heard her say those words to him in a long time. She was never one to say them often, but when she did, she meant them. Gwen burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. Harry ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He tried to stop her from crying, but she cried even hared as he held her. Moments later she began to stop and her breathing was going back to normal. Harry felt so bad that he had made her feel this way. He couldn't help but think that if he had told her how he felt, maybe she wouldn't have gone into this fit.

Gwen finally stopped crying long enough for to look at him. Harry looked down and saw that sparkle in her eyes. He knew she was sorry for hiding herself, but she did it for him.

"I'm sorry Gwen," said Harry

"For what?"

"For pushing you away. You were the only one who's saved me that's come back. I was so angry at the fact that you left, that I didn't think to thank you for what you did. You were right to do what you did and I've been selfish this whole time. I love you too,"

Harry and Gwen stared in to each other's eyes. They slowly leaned in and kissed. Gwen's face was hot on Harry's. He could feel the tears that had been running down her face, but he didn't care. Her lips were soft and warm, and moved with his. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and Gwen wrapped hers around his neck. Harry pulled Gwen in closer and drifted away into the silence. Gwen was falling in love all over again. They had forgotten all about why they were fighting, for that one moment. There was no noise around them. All the anger inside of them had drifted away and was replaced with a warm sensation. They kissed for what felt like hours, possibly days, but it didn't matter. They had finally worked everything out and all that was left was the love for each other.

Everyone downstairs was beginning to wonder what was taking Gwen so long. She had been up there with Harry for an hour and a few were beginning to wonder if something had happened.

"Mum, I'm starving. Can we please have breakfast?" whined Ron

"No. We are going to wait for Gwen before we eat," said Mrs. Weasley

"But she already said she wasn't going to stay for breakfast," said Ginny

"I'm leaving," said Fred.

"Right behind you," said George.

"You will not go anywhere," bellowed Mrs. Weasley

Fred and George sat down angrily.

"And take your elbow off the table. It's rude,"

Fred and George raised their arms and slammed their elbows on to the kitchen table. Mrs. Weasley was not happy.

Just as she was about to yell at them, for aggravating her, Ron's door opened. Everyone turned to try and see who was coming down the stars. Descending from the stairs was Gwen, with Harry right behind, holding her hand. They slowly made their way to the kitchen, with everyone's eyes following them. When they reached the landing, they could see the looks on their friend's faces. Ron, Fred, George, and Charlie looked a little confused. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Tronks, Bobel, and Hermione were all gleaming. Professor Lupin and Mr. Weasley were quite happy and Mad-eye Moody was just standing there, his mechanical eye at the back of his head.

"You took your time," said Ron

"Yes, well I needed to fix some things," said Gwen "We needed to fix some things,"

"So you and Harry are – alright?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," said Harry

"Oh how sweet," said Bobel.

Fred, George and Ron all scrunched up faces, like they were about to vomit.

"Well, now that we have everything sorted out, I think it's time for a spot of breakfast,"

"Finally," said Ron

"Will you be joining us Gwen? Or do you still plan on…" Mrs. Weasley gestured to Gwen's trunk, which was standing by the door

Gwen looked over to it and frowned. She then turned to look at Harry who was smiling at her.

"No. I think I'll be staying," said Gwen smiling and the two of them sat down next to Hermione and Ron

The last few weeks of summer seemed to go by so fast. All the girls at the Burrow took a week and went on a small little vacation, leaving the boys to survive for them selves. They were fine, but took some time to get used to not having Mrs. Weasley there, to cook everything. Fred and George nearly blew up the oven and Ron accidentally set the kitchen table on fire.

September had finally come and it was time for the four friends to go on with their lives. Ron was going into the Ministry like his dad, but to work in a different department. Hermione was going to take teaching classes and planed on going back to teach at Hogwarts after her classes were up. She was interested in teaching one of her favorite classes while she was at Hogwarts. Harry and Gwen planned on becoming Aurors. Though there wasn't much evil they could handle left in the world, it was still their first and only choice.

The train for Hogwarts was leaving; Ron, Hermione, Gwen and Harry all went to say their good byes to Ginny and some of their no-longer, classmates. It was hard for the four of them to not be getting on that train with Ginny, finding a compartment and discussing what they did over the summer. Several times, Hermione made her way to the train door, to get on. Ron had to hold her back every time, rolling his eyes as he did.

This was the last day they were going to see each other for a while. Gwen and Harry had their first day of Auror training that afternoon, Ron was to leave for the ministry with his father once the train left and Hermione was going to a training school, for witches and wizards that wanted to be teachers. She would be there for 2 years and then was to go for an interview at Hogwarts. It saddened them to be apart from each other for so long. Harry, Ron and Hermione had grown up together and it felt like Gwen had too. As the train was leaving, the four friends said their last good byes.

"So we'll see you two at Christmas?" asked Ron. "You too, Hermione?"

"Of course, Ron," said Hermione, giving him a kiss

"We'll be there," said Harry with a smile.

Hermione and Gwen gave each other a last hug and Ron patted Harry on the back. Once the train had vanished from sound and sight, Ron headed back with his dad. They apperated and were gone in a second. Hermione did the same. She turned on the spot and apperated into thin air. She was going home to get her things and then was off to her new school. Gwen and Harry waited for a second before they left.

"I'm going to miss Hogwarts," said Harry.

"Me too," And Gwen gave Harry a kiss on the lips.

They mounted their brooms, just as the crowd of parents and siblings had died down to almost no one, but the two of them. They gave the train station one last look and then were off into the air, to complete a new and wonderful life, with nothing but family, friends and the love for each other.

**The End**


End file.
